Automatic lowering device



Aug. 31, 1937. E. SCHOENE AUTOMATIC LOWERING DEVICE Filed May 8, 1936 Inventor Fig. 3.

A Home y Patented Aug. 31, 1937 UNITED S'TTES AUTOMATIC LOWERING DEVICE Edgar Schoene, Orchard Farm, Mo.

Application May 8,

Claims.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in automatic lowering devices, and more specifically toits use in lowering persons of various weights escaping from a burning 5 building-the peculiarities of which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Rope ladders, block and tackle or the like, require cooperative action by the person using them to regulate the speed of descent and to counteract too speedy movement.

My device can be adjusted to different weights for gravitating descent, so as practically to regulate the speed of descent as desired, and produce automatically a substantially uniform rate without attention of the person being lowered, or of the attendant; for instance, my device can be attached by a rescuer to a person overcome by smoke or otherwise incapacitated from aiding himself, gently pushed over the window sill and left by his rescuer to descend at a reasonably safe rate of speed to the ground, while another unconscious person or a child, is being brought to the window for lowering in turn. Valuable time is saved thereby.

5 In the accompanying drawing in which like reference numerals indicate corresponding parts,

Fig. 1 represents a front view partly in section, of my device mounted above a window;

Fig. 2, a vertical sectional view through the casing on the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing a side view of the machine mounted therein;

Fig. 3, an enlarged sectional elevation on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing a front elevation of the machine and partial section; and

Fig. 4, a vertical section on the line 44 of Fig. 3, showing the regulating valve.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral l designates a belt, sling or other means of attachment to the body to be lowered. A wire cable 2 or other 40 flexible connection from the sling, passes over a drum 3 rotatable on a shaft 4 journaled in bearings carried by pedestal brackets 5-5 forming part of, or fastened in, a strong casing 25 which is firmly secured by bolts or otherwise to the wall 45 above a window or other place where it may be used.

The ends of said shaft are provided with double-cranks 66 extending diametrically opposite to the shaft, and the wrist pins 'l-l there- 50 on are operatively connected by links 88' to retarding means comprising for example pistons mounted in vertical cylinders 99 securely fastened adjacent to said pedestal brackets and in the rotary plane of the wrist pins. A pipe Ill 55 connects the bottom of said cylinders, and a valve 1936, Serial' No. 78,548

casing II is interposed midway thereof. In this casing is horizontally mounted a tapering barrel I2, having transverse holes l3 of different diameters which'successively match opposing ports l4l4' in. .said casing and form respective throughpassages when the barrel is rotated by a crankarm [5 which pointsto a series of numbers representing pounds circumferentially spaced on a dial disk l6 indicating approximate.-

ly the weights to be lowered, and corresponding inversely to the holes in said barrel that'is, the smaller holes correspond to the larger weights to be lowered.

The said pistons are preferably single acting,

The weight of a'body suspended in said sling I pulls on the wire connection and rotates the drum shaft, causing the cranks to operate the pistons alternately .up and down in their respective cylinders, and thus force the. contained liquid to shift from'one cylinder'tof'theother alternately, at a speed regulatedlby thesizeof the hole in the barrel'that is in adjuste,d.. communication with the portsofthecasing. l

For instance, the indicator crank arm when set for 150# weight, provides a smaller hole and hence a greater resistance to liquid passage therethrough, than when said arm is set for a 50# weight for which a correspondingly larger hole in the valve provides lesser resistance for the flow of liquid back and forth between the cylinders. The greater the weight of the body being lowered the greater is the rotative pull on the drum, and the greater is the required resistance to the flow of liquid between the cylinders obtained by the successively smaller holes corresponding inversely to the weight numbers on the dial disk to which the indicator crank arm is set. The indicator arm is set to a number on the disk which is somewhat less than the weight of the body to be lowered, according to the desired speed of its gravitating descent. The difference between the indicated weight number and the actual weight of the body to be lowered, should be suflicient to overcome the friction of operating the device and allow a safe rate of descent of the suspended body.

The device can also be used for lowering boxes or bundles from an upper floor automatically.

For quickly rewinding the flexible connection on the drum, the drum is provided with a springcontrolled ratchet clutch connection to the crank shaft, by which the drum can be turned backward without turning the crank shaft. For example, one hub of the drum has ratchet teeth 20 engaging matching teeth 2| on a collar 22 fixed to the shaft, and held in such engagement by a coil spring 23 pressing against the opposite hub of the drum, making a positive clutching engagement when a body or other weight is being lowered as above described. In rewinding the flexible connection, the drum is rotated back ward by hand, and slides axially on the crank shaft compressing the coil spring to disengage the teeth and allow the drum to turn backward without operating the crank shaft and its connections.

tate such manual rotation. I

I do not confine myself to the 1 construction shown for carrying out my invention, except by,

ject to flow of liquid, and regulating means for saidliquid characterized by a valve casing having ports communicating with said pipe, and a barrel rotatably adjustable in said casing and having transverse holes of different diameter successively matching said "ports, substantially as described.

3 2. A lowering device having, in combination a drum,,a fiexiblemember wound thereon for loweringa, descending weight when unwinding said member, and retarding means including chambers containing liquid under pressure induced by 40 said descending weight and connected by a pipe subject to a flow of liquid, and regulating means characterized by a Valve casing interposed in said pipe having ports connected to said'pipe,,and

a barrel rotatably adjustable in'said casing and having transverse holes of different diameter successively matching said, ports, and a crank arm on said barrel for adjustingdifierent holes The flanged rims 24 of the drum facili of said barrel to vary the flow, substantially as described.

3. A lowering device having, in combination a drum, a flexible member wound thereon for lowering a descending weight supported thereby, retarding means controlling the rotation of said drum and including chambers containing liquid under pressure of said descending weight and connected by a pipe subject to flow of liquid between said chambers, a regulating valve casing in the course of said pipe, a rotatably adjustable barrel mounted in said casing, having various sizes of holes, an indicator crank arm, on said barrel, and a disc adjacent to said arm bearing numbers spaced circumferentially in a series indicating weights and inversely corresponding to said holes in said barrel, substantially as described.

4. A lowering device having, in combination a double crankshaft, a drum slidable axially and rotatably thereon and having ratchet teeth on one'en-dhub, a flexible member wound on said drum for rotating the drum under pull of a despending weight, retarding means operatively connected to said shaft, a collar fixed on said shaft and having ratchet teeth normally engaging said hub teeth, and a coil spring on said shaft pressing the hub teeth into positive engagement with the collar teeth to transmit the retarding action to the drum whilethe flexible member is imwinding, and allow the drum to turn freely on the shaft when the drum. is rotated backward to wind thereon said flexible member, substantially as described.

'5. A lowering device comprising a crankshaft,

a f drum rotatable on said crankshaft, a flexible member wound on said drum, a ratchet clutch between said drum and shaft, a spring mounted on the shaft acting on the clutch to connect and 

